Talon Vol 1 17
seeking the Lazarus Pits, the Calvin Rose and Anya Volkova hope that they can reverse the state of undeath that Calvin is in, and return his humanity to him. As the subterranean caverns begin to fill with toxic gas, though, Calvin is forced to use the wasted air in his lungs to keep Anya alive with a kiss. They are come upon by Lord Death Man, who had been freed from his imprisonment in the facility, and escaped into the tunnels. Before he can do anything to them, he collapses from the gas, allowing Calvin and Anya to escape into a clear hallway, as the toxins disperse. Elsewhere in the facility, Doctor Darrk spots Anya and Calvin on his security monitors and realizes that perhaps they contributed to Lord Death Man's escape. When he sees that Calvin is one of the Court of Owls' Talons, he feels he's been delivered a gift. Unfortunately, the League is very thorough in its operations, and a security protocol has already been initiated to burn all that's left in the wake of the toxic gas stage. Anya determines that if she can get into the lab, she might be able to stop the protocol. In the meantime, though, Casey Washington has done some research on Lord Death Man, and discovered that he is a murderer who is too dangerous to let go free. Calvin agrees, and abandons the mission for the Lazarus Pits temporarily in order to apprehend the mad skeleton. Soon, Lord Death Man revives in the caves, only to get stabbed in the back by Calvin. He turns and warns that the non-lethal wounds are a clear sign that his attacker is not of the League. Warning that Calvin is no match for his infinitely retentive memory, Lord Death Man tugs the blades from his back and thrusts one of them into Calvin's heart, leaving him dying on the cavern's floor. Anya, meanwhile, makes her way into the lab and is surprised to find Doctor Darrk there. He deactivates the fire-bomb protocol as he taunts her over how her mother gave her up to the League of Assassins in exchange for freedom. While Anya's mother had gained her freedom, he had only gained a defector, to his disdain. Given how easily she sold the League's secrets out to Emperor Penguin, he wonders what price it would take for her to return to his service; to retrieve Lord Death Man and the Talon for him. Grimly, Anya responds that he can't affored her, launching a harpoon through his hand and using it to stop the flooding of the tunnels that has already begun to drown Lord Death Man and Calvin. As the flooding subsides, Lord Death Man reminds that Doctor Darrk wants them both dead, and so it would behoove them to work together to get out of the tunnels before the tunnels begin to flood again. Calvin refuses, reaching into the water to grab a shark, and launch it at his enemy. Anya, meanwhile, insists that she her lot in life is not to betray her masters, but to help people. Help them escape from those who would create assassins of circus performers; from those who would make killers of little girls; from people like Ebenezer Darcel. After she has beaten him to the floor, rupturing his stasis suit, Doctor Darrk still manages to wheeze that as much as she might run, she will never escape what she is. At that moment, he shoves a sparking cable into his own pool of blood, and sends a jolt through it and into Anya, who is standing in it. She stumbles, and soon he is upon her with his hands around her neck. She grins, revealing a detonator in her hand. She explains that when the destruct sequence on the facility initiated, all the doors opened, and she discovered a room full of fetuses being grown within green globes. She assumed they were important to Ra's al Ghul, and so she attached a bomb to them. If Doctor Darrk kills her, it will release the dead-man's-switch in her hand, and destroy them all. She reminds that while she may not be able to escape what she is, the Talon will and has. He is an example to her, and she would do anything for him. Even die. Sighing, Doctor Darrk admits that he is proud of her ruthlessness, and closes the hatch that is flooding the tunnels, asking only what she wants in exchange for Calvin's life. Later, on the roof of the abandoned LexCorp Security building in Gotham, Anya, Casey, and Sarah Washington watch Calvin re-attempt his burning rope suspended coffin escape, having failed it previously due to his inhuman insensibility. This time, he succeeds, having been returned to his former self with the help of the Lazarus Pits. Once free, he returns to the roof, explaining that despite getting his skills back, he may want to spend less time escaping and more time living. They are interrupted by a call indicating that a woman is trying to escape from Intergang, and needs their help and sanctuary. Anya wonders if Calvin is up to participating, and after a moment, he realizes that he is free to do whatever he wants, and agrees to help wholeheartedly. Elsewhere, Doctor Darrk establishes a new lab, imprisoning Lord Death Man with more effective restraints, returning to the plan to extract the Shelley formula for Ra's al Ghul. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * Villains: * * Other Characters: * * Edgar * Joey * Locations: * * Items: * Vehicles: * | Notes = | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }}